House approves $12 billion-plus water bill

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By HENRY C. JACKSON

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 20, 2014

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WASHINGTON — The House passed the closest thing so far this year to an infrastructure bill — a $12 billion-plus bipartisan measure authorizing 34 water projects, ranging from flood protection in California and North Dakota to deepening the Port of Savannah and widening a Texas-Louisiana waterway that services the oil industry.

The Water Resources Reform and Development Act passed Tuesday on a 412-4 vote. Lawmakers shook off criticism from conservative and watchdog groups like Heritage Action and Taxpayers for Common Sense that argued the bill should have done more to rein in wasteful government spending.

The Senate could vote on the bill before the end of the week, sending it to President Barack Obama for his signature. The legislation is a bipartisan compromise of companion bills passed separately by the House and Senate last year. After months of negotiations, a final deal on it was reached last week.

Supporters, including business interests like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hailed it as an economy-boosting measure that could deliver thousands of new jobs.

Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., who helped negotiate the final version of the bill, said it would help support jobs in West Virginia.

“This bipartisan jobs bill will revitalize our inland waterway system so that bulk commodities such as West Virginia coal can be transported more efficiently,” Rahall said in a statement.

He cited U.S. Chamber of Commerce statistics that said domestic waterways and ports support 9,890 West Virginia jobs and contribute $1.6 billion to the state’s economy.

Shuster, R-Pa., and other lawmakers also argued the bill was more fiscally responsible than past water projects bills. On the House floor, he noted the bill puts an end to $18 billion in dormant water projects passed before 2007.

That was not enough for some critics. A Taxpayers for Common Sense analysis released this week called the bill “a missed opportunity to reform management of our nation’s infrastructure in a fiscally responsible manner.”

With an estimated cost of $12.3 billion, the measure is a slimmer version of past water project bills. The last one in 2010, for example, had a price tag of $23.3 billion.

The new bill addresses pent-up demands by lawmakers, including addressing flooding concerns in places like Fargo, North Dakota and the Natomas Basin in the Sacramento, California area.

The bill authorizes spending up to $800 million for a flood diversion project that would protect the Red River Valley region of North Dakota and Minnesota, which includes Fargo. The region has suffered major flooding four of the past five years.

In California, the bill allows as much as $760 million in federal spending for a project that would strengthen levees of the Natomas Basin in the Sacramento area, which could protect more than 100,000 residents.

There are also big investments in projects that improve infrastructure for commerce.

The bill sanctions more than $748 million in federal funds for dredging and widening of the Sabine-Neches Waterway, which is billed as “America’s Energy Gateway” because the roughly 80-mile waterway services oil and natural gas refineries in Texas and Louisiana. It also includes approval of up to $492 million for expanding and deepening the Port of Savannah, one of the country’s fastest growing ports. Actual funding of all the projects will require separate bills.

Congress is expected to consider another key infrastructure bill before the end of the year. A Senate panel last week approved a bill to keep federal highway programs going for the next six years, but it remains uncertain whether Congress will complete its work in time to stop a disruption in transportation aid to states this summer.

Besides authorizing specific water projects, Tuesday’s bill makes changes to how future projects are to seek funding. It sets specific time and cost limits for studies on potential projects, eliminates duplicative Army Corps of Engineers reviews and speeds up environmental review process for projects.

The bill also increases spending from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to pay for improvements to ports and creates a five-year pilot program to provide loans and loan guarantees for various water projects.